Hey gang, let’s put on a show!”

– Mickey Rooney, Actor

Buenos Aires – I guess they made it clear in the name of the show – 1° Exposición y Paseo de Compras Gay en Buenos Aires – or, roughly, the 1st Exposition and Walk of Gay Purchases in Buenos Aires… because the show, which went on this last Friday and Saturday at the Costa Salguero, was all about getting gay folk to buy things, and that was about as much connection as most of it had to the gay community. It wasn’t a showcase for lots of gay related businesses – there were furniture stores, both for home and office, there were travel agencies, spas, resort hotels, a private ambulance service, cell phones, computers, clothing shops, colorfully decorated shoes, a woman weaving scarves, chocolates, cooking demonstrations to advertise shellfish from Patagonia… I’m sure a few of the businesses were gay owned and/or operated, but there wasn’t a whole lot of evidence of that, and conversations with some of the vendors didn’t yield up that information. There were, to be fair, a few – two gay magazines that are trying to get some sort of subscriber base for relatively new ventures, the local gay radio station broadcasting from one corner of the hall (while meanwhile a competing talk and music station broadcast equally loudly from the opposing corner). There was a fair amount of eye candy, though most of them the visitors, each of whom had to shell out 35 pesos (a little fact they forgot to mention on their website and advertising) to enter into the space where one after another merchant tried to get them to part with their hard earned pesos (or 55 pesos if, for some bizarre reason, you felt the need to have a pass for both days). Overall, mildly amusing to attend, Henry managed to get a free hair styling and facial – as long as he didn’t mind the radio jockeys shoving microphones in his face, so it was worth it for his entrance price… they offered to do something with my hair… but I’m afraid it’s just too late for that.